1991 commander or xse commander ?

[Najord]

What are the differences and which is the more accurate of the two. Any plus or minus of the two would be apperciated. Use will be concealed carry and range use. Shoot around 300 plus each time at range, 2-3 month. First 1911, brother has kimber like the way it shoots, but to many problems with it.

[paul45]

The 1991 is the basic, no frills, with the timeless beauty, Colt Commander. It is attractive in its staightforwardness. The XSE is Colt's rendition of a Commander with "bells and whistles". There are NO plus or minuses between them.....you must choose btween "old school" and "fancy add-ons". I have 5 commanders in different finishes and options and each is outstanding in its own way. Here are pics of 2 of them (can't help myself)... XSE
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k57/paul10mm/-1.jpg
and Gold Cup Commander
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k57/paul10mm/GC2.jpg
No pics of the others yet! My advice is get one soon...you will be impressed....and don't be fooled by the others advertising...go with Colts! Good Luck.... ;)

[John]

Personally, I would go with the 1991 one. I love the classic looks of the Commander, as shown here:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/RioVistaSlim/IMG_0821.jpg

That's our friend's Rio Vista Slim Commander, my great envy!

[Terry R]

I've got both the 4091U "standard" all stainless Commander, and the 4860XSE LW Commander.

I don't really favor one over the other, although I confess that the idea of having just the "plain Jane" stainless Commander tickles me a little more.
I use the XSE LW primarily for carry because it's so much lighter.

As far as differences, I don't think there's anything major. The most "practical" is the ambidextrous safety on the XSE (I'm right handed so I don't care about that). The wood grips on the XSE are pretty as opposed to the black rubber grips on the stainless Commander (but they can be changed easily if desired), and I sort of like the rubber grips in their own right.
The trigger is different on the XSE (no big deal for me), and so are the sights (but I see no practical difference for defensive use). Plus, my XSE LW has the FLGR which makes field stripping a little more inconvenient, but I don't know if the all stainless XSE has the FLGR or not as does my XSE LW. That's sort of a non-issue whether it has it or not.

So I'm glad I spent the extra $100 for the XSE LW because the "standard" Commander isn't available with an alloy, LW frame which I "needed" for the purpose of carrying. If I was only limited to just one Commander, and I wasn't intending to carry it concealed, I think I would have bought the 4091U all stainless and been happy with that. Again, the XSE is the way to go if you're going to carry a Commander.

If you're only going to use it as a range blaster, then the standard Commander whether blue or stainless might be the way to go, but since you specifically say you are going to carry, then, in my opinion, the 4860XSE is the ONLY way to go.

My .02, now pay up.

Terry

[Bud White]

Either is a good choice i have 2 xse and what was a plain jane series 80 i like um all

http://www.combatcarry.com/gallery/files/1/2/1/8/IMG_2115-1.jpg

[Hersh]

For comparison, here's a lightly modded 1991A1 Combat (steel frame) Commander. This one has the ORM (old roll mark). The terms "NRM" and "ORM" are not official Colt designations as far as I know, but they are generally accepted among the Colt lovers community.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d172/Hershel_Van/Bob-3.jpg

[Hawkmoon]

Another vote for the M1991A1. I, too, like the proportions and design of the original Combat Commander, and the 1991 series is the nearest thing you can get to that in a new pistol. Personally, while I recognize the practical advantages of stainless, aesthetically I prefer blued.

[Rio Vista Slim]

Personally, I would go with the 1991 one. I love the classic looks of the Commander, as shown here:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/RioVistaSlim/IMG_0821.jpg

That's our friend's Rio Vista Slim Commander, my great envy!
John,
I am flattered. :bf:

I own both the pistol pictured, and a LW XSE Commander. As Terry R so eloquently explained, the XSE is a perfect weapon for concealed carry. Mine happens to have come with the standard guide rod and spring plug, unlike Terry's gun. I carry mine daily (except when I carry the NRM Commander), and fire it frequently for practice, but not excessively.

Najord, if you can only afford one Colt, right now, I would recommend that you get the all steel 04691 Commander. That is the gun in John's post, and although heavier than the XSE Lightweight, you can fire all the ammo you want to, and not worry about doing any harm to the gun.

I was able to get both, so I did!

[Terry Vanpool]

I recently got this XSE Combat Commander. Choose it over the LW because I wanted to shoot it a lot.
http://www.hunt101.com/img/436992.jpghttp://www.hunt101.com/img/436992.jpg
First post here and just showing out a little.

[John]

Hey Terry, welcome on board. We love show-offs here, especially if they post pictures of Commanders. We will forgive you for the front cocking serrations and the Full Lenght Guide Rod, even for the rubber grips. The 4.25" pistol rules!!!

[Terry R]

I recently got this XSE Combat Commander. Choose it over the LW because I wanted to shoot it a lot.
http://www.hunt101.com/img/436992.jpghttp://www.hunt101.com/img/436992.jpg
First post here and just showing out a little.

It's interesting how Colt changes little things as time goes on, noting especially your XSE Commander.

Yours has the FLGR like my LW XSE Commander, but our triggers are different (yours the two slot and mine the three hole), and most obviously, mine has the long lever ambidextrous safety while yours has the government design safety. You also have the government sights as opposed to the ramped sights on mine.
I suspect that your grips are aftermarket but I don't know that Colt didn't install them as standard at an earlier time as well.

My theory is that Colt does that on purpose so that we have to keep buying the darn things in order to have "one of each". :nono:

Terry

[dakota1911]

Below is Ted holding a Colt Combat Commander made in 1991 and his twin Ed holding a Colt XSE LW Commander made in 2005. I go with Ed and carry an XSE LW Commander myself.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/dakota1911/twins1r.jpg

[Weg Ban]

I always support the right to arm bears.

[John]

LoRL! :D :) :p

[Najord]

Thank you for all of your input. I gather that the majority would agree that the model i should go with is the colt xse Commander 04012xse. http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/XSE.asp The Middle on in this link.
If this is correct let me know.
Thank you all

[John]

I am not the majority (well, in some sense I am, but anyway), but I would go for the O4691 here: http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/1991.asp

[zenner22]

I had to make this same decision myself about five months ago. What it came down to was that I didn't like the ambi safety, full lenghth guide rod, three hole trigger or the front slide serrations on the XSE models. I guess I'm saying I don't like the features that make a Commander an XSE Commander! I could deal with everything except for the ambi safety and the full length guide rod. Those were my main problems with it.

Colt had temporarily suspended production of the basic NRM Commanders at that point so no local dealer could find one. They could all find the XSE versions, but I decided to wait. A big decison for me, I'm not usually patient when it comes to something I want. But I did it and am glad I did.

Two weeks ago I picked up my stainless Commander NRM O4091U. The stainless model has the undercut beneath the trigger guard and the duckbill safety. Nice clean lines, no "extras" I don't want, and over $100 cheaper to boot!

[John]

Two weeks ago I picked up my stainless Commander NRM O4091U. The stainless model has the undercut beneath the trigger guard and the duckbill safety. Nice clean lines, no "extras" I don't want, and over $100 cheaper to boot!

Could we see pictures of your stainless Commander please? Especially the hammer and grip safety area? Thanks.

[Terry R]

Thank you for all of your input. I gather that the majority would agree that the model i should go with is the colt xse Commander 04012xse. http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/XSE.asp The Middle on in this link.
If this is correct let me know.
Thank you all

Najord, you yourself said in your first post that concealed carry would be a primary use for the pistol, so as an owner of both the 4091U all stainless Commander, AND the 4860XSE LW Commander, I would highly recommend that you go with the 4860XSE LW Commander because the difference in weight is VERY noticeable.

The 4860XSE and the 4012XSE are identical except for the frame itself which is the lightweight alloy on the 4860XSE where the 4012XSE is all stainless including the frame (and therefore heavier).
I would recommend staying with stainless in any case, but especially for carry, the stainless will be less prone to finish wear (there ain't none :D ), and it won't be prone to rust either as would a blued model where the bluing quickly wears off from holster use.

Keep in mind that no one stops at just one, so get the 4860XSE first for the purpose of getting a lightweight carry pistol, then get the 4091U all stainless to save $100 and have a heavy duty pistol that you can blast away all day with high power loads and not worry about abusing it.

While the "Enhanced" features of the XSE line are fine, none of them are deal breakers for me and my all stainless "plain" 4091U Commander is all I really wanted in a 1911. The ONLY reason I went with the XSE is because at this point in time, the XSE line is the only part of the Colt lineup where you can get a Lightweight Commander in stainless/alloy.
If the plain 1991 lineup included a stainless slide/alloy frame Lightweight Commander, I would have gone that way instead. In fact, if Colt ever does add a LW Commander to the standard 1991 line, I'll pick one up in a heartbeat... just because. :D

As an interesting aside; the standard stainless Commander in the Teddy Bear photo must be an older one, because my brand new all stainless 4091U Commander that I bought only a couple of months ago has the same trigger guard undercut as my XSE has, and it also has the same duckbill grip safety.
If I were to put wood grips on it and an ambidextrous safety, it would look identical to the XSE.

Terry

[MLee]

The seemingly "understood" point of view that the 4860XSE LW Commander, having an alloy frame is somehow not going to hold up, i.e., will wear out, crack, or fail much sooner than the steel or stainless steel version is not shared by my gunsmith. He feels that alloys of older vintage may have had problems, but that Colt seems to have come up with a formula that comes pretty close to hanging in there with the steel and SS models. Anyone have proof that his point of view is incorrect? Does Tuner have a position on this one? Thanks for any input.

Mike

[Terry R]

Mike, I pretty much agree with you, and I think some of the hype about alloy frames being more fragile comes from people who think that "common sense" dictates that a lightweight frame wouldn't hold up as well as a steel frame.

Keeping in mind that frame cracks have been found on steel pistols as well as alloy pistols, I really don't think there's much to worry about. It's just one of those things that keeps getting repeated (including by me :o ) so it lives on.

There is another issue that seems to have "some" merit with regard to alloy frames in that the feed ramp might be more prone to abuse.
Specifically, some magazine's followers can move forward at the last round and bump the feed ramp resulting in some wear over time.
I can't speak directly to that either, but "just because" it doesn't hurt to be careful, I've bought all Wilson 47D mags for use specifically in my LW XSE Commander because those mags have full length, polymer followers that can't possibly do any harm.
For my other all-stainless Colts, I use both the Wilson 47D's but also the standard Colt mags that came with them.

Terry

[MLee]

Terry,

I have also gone to almost exclusive use of the Wilson 47D mags with my alloy pistols as a possible preventative. This increased wear of the feed ramp may be more of a malleability problem of the alloy frames. Not being a metallurgist, I'm just shooting in the dark hear. I have had great luck with the Wilson mags over the years and keep replacing factory mags with them on a routine basis.

Mike

[jeff1124]

I have one of each too. Here's the XSE light weight.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g207/jeff1124/xse5.jpg

and here's the blued 1991.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g207/jeff1124/comm1f.jpg

I like them both but the XSE is mucho easier to carry IMHO!! I think you oughtta plan on buying both!